Staff Profile

Doctor Julia Hornberger

J ulia Hornberger is a social anthropologist who works on questions of policing. She started out with a focus on policing and human rights in Johannesburg. In this work she has been tracing how South Africa’s burgeoning rights regime on the one hand, and the various interactions with a population living under circumstances of great uncertainty and insecurity on the other hand, have transformed policing in post-apartheid years. In 2011 she published her book “Human Rights and Policing. The Meaning of Violence and Justice in the everyday Practice of Policing in Johannesburg” with Routledge. This research interest continues to occupy her. Especially as South Africa seems to enter into a new area of conflict and confrontations between people and the police. More recently, she has shifted her focus towards the policing of health and intellectual property rights. In a project on international crime control and the circulation of fake and substandard medication she explore the ways in which questions of health, security and the market intersect around the figure of the pharmaceutical copy, globally and in South Africa in particular. She studied Anthropology in Göttingen (Germany), Amsterdam and Leiden (The Netherlands). She received her PhD from the Faculty of Law of the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands. For five years she was a researcher at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER) before she went to teach in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Zurich. In Zurich she set up a research project on Transnational Crime Control in Africa, which included her own research on the ‘Fight against Counterfeit Medication’, PhD positions for junior scholars in Germany and South Africa, and a collaboration with the Chair of Anthropology at the University of Konstanz. The project is receiving generous funding by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and falls under the umbrella of the Special Priority Program 1448 on Adaptation and Creativity in Africa (http://www.spp1448.de/home/). She is also co-convenor of the Johannesburg Workshop in Theory and Criticism In the Department she is the Postgraduate-Coordinator

Julia Hornberger is teaching courses in the field of legal anthropology and the anthropology of human rights, crime and policing, anthropology of intellectual property, anthropology of the state, medical anthropology, the anthropology of medicine and pharmaceuticals, development studies.

2011. Policing and Human Rights. The Meaning of Violence and Justice in the Everyday Policing o f Johannesburg. Law, Development and Globalisation Series. London: Routledge. (soft-cover edition released in September 2013)

Share

Quick links

Giving to Wits

Whether you invest in a promising young student, or contribute towards vital research or new buildings and facilities – giving to Wits brings great personal satisfaction and lasting results you can be proud of for years to come.

About

Wits is a remarkable university that is internationally distinguished for its excellent research, high academic standards and commitment to social justice.

Our partners, networks and relationships serve as catalysts for the great ideas that help us to make the impossible, incredible. We invite you to join us on our extraordinary journey to effect meaningful change in society and pave the way for a bright future for generations to come.

Visitor Information

Wits University offers a wealth of sightseeing and educational opportunities for tourists and first-time visitors.Take a virtual tour of our campuses which are spread over more than 400 acres in Parktown and Braamfontein. Maps are easily accessible to help visitors navigate and enjoy our world-class facilities. Experience the arts by browsing through our current events or discover the diversity of our rich heritage by visiting one of our museums or centres here.

About Schools Liaison

The Wits Schools Liaison team forms the link between high school and university allowing a smooth transitional process for the student. The Schools Liaison Office gives the student a holistic understanding of what is expected of them at university level.